The Distinction Between a Clan and Its Members
by CantarellaKisses
Summary: What some people fail to realize is that Kiba and Shino are not always the prime examples of an Inuzuka and an Aburame.


**The Distinctions Between a Clan and It's Members**

This is a post-time skip oneshot, so they are around 17 and Akamaru is fully grown.

Summary: What some people fail to realize is that Kiba and Shino are not always prime examples of an Inuzuka and an Aburame.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and I'm not profiting from this work of fiction.

* * *

The Inuzuka Clan has always been regarded somewhat disdainfully by other shinobi clans; they are loud, form bonds entirely too easily, and have…_questionable_ ways of showing outward affection. 

There isn't much difference with Kiba; Kiba is thunderous, all-too-ready to kill himself for his family and friends, and is often shoved off people because he likes to pounce upon them (it is rumored he once _licked _Shino on the face in broad daylight after he returned from a solo mission, but Shino says nothing, Kiba develops an odd twitch when asked, and bystanders forcefully state that have no idea what you're talking about).

The Aburame Clan, while never receiving open disdain from anyone, has always been regarded as too quiet, isolated, and rumored to not actually be human at all because normal people just don't _not _ever show any emotion, shinobi or otherwise.

Again, not much difference in this member; Shino is regarded as a prime example of an emotionless shinobi and proud Aburame. Never agitated (except in the presence of Kiba) and never not under control (but the fact that Kiba has an odd twitch under the circumstances of his licking of Shino's face being mentioned, some people wonder).

* * *

But, being human boys, there will always be ways in which they differ slightly from their respective clans.

* * *

The Inuzuka, by nature, are suspicious and even outright against the Aburame in some cases. A clan that has a blood pact with dogs would naturally be wary of a clan with a blood pact insects, seeing as fleas and a number of other nasties are insects. 

At first, Kiba was like this. According to some people, Kiba is still dead set on never accepting Shino's buggy ways. But it takes a practiced observational eye to tell that Kiba spends more time with Shino than with Hinata.

The Aburame, by nature, are suspicious and even outright against the Inuzuka in some cases. Dogs scratch and kill fleas and other insects on a regular basis. Dogs are also clumsy and loud whereas insects are precise and almost undetectable in some ways.

At first, Shino was like this. According to some, Shino will never respect Kiba and his canine ways. But it takes a practiced observational eye to catch the moments where Shino will pat Akamaru's giant head discreetly on days when the team naps together after practice.

* * *

Kiba complains loud and long about Shino and his "Damn freaky bugs" and his tendency to "Act like a damn block of wood". But in the end he always has a smile and an energetic hug for his friend before and after practice, when they think no one is watching. 

Shino doesn't outright complain, but Kiba, being his best friend and all (most people don't believe that), notices the nearly imperceptible twitches after a particularly obnoxious outburst on his part. He also notices that Shino occasionally pets Akamaru, when he thinks no one is watching.

* * *

Tsume Inuzuka and Shibi Aburame do not like each other. _At all._ Shibi does not see the wisdom in having a female as a clan head, and Tsume snarls at his sexism. Tsume is everything Shibi is not; loud, outwardly affectionate, extremely close with her offspring and fellow clan members, and, above all, _beastly._ Tsume does not understand Shibi's cool attitude and emotionless persona. She doesn't see how he can not be involved with his offspring and other clan members. And at least _she _doesn't have bugs under her skin that _eat other people's chakra! _

It is only natural that their children should be like their parents. Kiba is an Inuzuka to the bone (no pun intended), and Shino is the perfect Aburame. When the two were placed on the same team, they and their parents were…_miffed_, to put it mildly. But Kiba and Shino eventually resigned themselves to the fact that they would have to work together (and stop fighting because they were scaring poor Hinata). Likewise, Shibi and Tsume followed suit; this could be a valuable learning experience for their children-soon-to-be-shinobi.

* * *

Kiba has long since stopped resigning himself to the fact he and Shino are on the same team. He now comes to look forward to the afternoons spent bruising each other up and laughing (well, at least in his case) it off later as they sit in a tree together. 

Shino secretly enjoys the afternoons spent in trees listening to Kiba's endless chatter. He has long since grown accustomed to it and finds that after you get past his rough-and-tumble ways, he is rather contemplative.

* * *

The Inuzuka keep no secrets from each other. They don't keep secrets from anybody, really; if one Inuzuka knows, the chances are that so do the others and the rest of Konoha. 

The Aburame are private people. They each hold their own secrets and if another Aburame knows a secret, it is never discussed. And certainly no one else in Konoha knows about it.

Tsume expects that Kiba will tell her everything, as does his older sister, Hana. After all, packs are tight-knit groups.

Shibi expects his son to keep to himself and come to him when he so sees fit. After all, he never speaks unnecessarily.

* * *

Kiba doesn't know when he stopped telling his mother and sister about his afternoons with Shino. He knows he still complains about him (loudly), but that one time when Shino started talking to him _first_ was special; so it should have warranted mentioning (loudly). But he found that when he got home, he didn't want to talk about it. He wanted to keep the memory all to himself because it was so special that if voiced, it might lose…something. 

Shino is used to not telling his family something unless absolutely necessary. But the day that he actually started talking _before _Kiba, he felt like telling his father. Not because it was necessary, but because it was important to him. But then he realized that you do not talk about such matters concerning an Inuzuka like they are important with an Aburame, so he didn't.

* * *

Tsume has seen how her son flirts with girls shamelessly. She doesn't reprimand him unless he's being exceptionally idiotic, because she knows this is what Inuzuka do, and there will eventually be someone out there who understands that. Kiba is a fine young man/shinobi, in her opinion. 

Shibi knows his son shows no interest in girls (nor boys, for that matter). But that is because he is an Aburame, and they are practically asexual. And eventually, a young lady will be found who will be willing to be a dutiful wife and help carry on a very old, distinguished clan. So he does not worry.

* * *

Kiba flirts with girls, but it doesn't feel right. He wasn't really aware when he realized he was gay, but it came as a shock to him. Mostly because he is an Inuzuka and very much like a canine, and dogs are, well, straight. But what came as an even bigger shock is when he realized not only was he gay, but for Shino. 

Shino was used to never feeling attracted to girls. He did "act like a damn block of wood" (where did that come from? He did not speak like that…), so therefore, he would not be interested. He knew he would eventually find some nice young lady who would help him carry on the clan and that was that. But one day he realized that his stomach sometimes did strange things, and he deduced it was a crush. Then he realized that it did those strange things whenever Kiba was around. You didn't have to be a genius to figure that out.

* * *

Tsume and Shibi both know very well that their boys will get along for the sake of the team and that lovely young lady, Hinata (both are discreetly eyeing her for their son because she is a good friend of theirs and they know it). They know the two are not and will never be friends because Inuzuka and Aburame are just too different. Tsume and Shibi are just thankful that Kiba and Shino haven't killed each other yet.

* * *

Kiba is thankful for his training to be observant to small details one lazy afternoon a week after his seventeenth birthday. Well, thankful to Shino for forcing him to learn to be observant to small details, because without him breathing down his neck about such things, he never would have noticed a change in the bug user's demeanor. They were sitting in the tree, par their usual post-training tradition, when Kiba noticed that Shino had subtly placed his hand between them instead of on his lap, and that the top buttons of his second coat were slightly undone even though the hood of the first on was still up. So Kiba, being an Inuzuka, decided "now or never." 

Shino is thankful for Kiba taking his scolding to heart and learning to be observant. Because that made his message clear when he took a chance (the boy really was rubbing off on him) and placed his hand between them after carefully undoing the buttons to one of his jackets. He saw Kiba look at his hand, then his profile, then his jacket. And then he was thankful for Kiba's being an Inuzuka, because he got the message and took the chance.

* * *

Tsume and Shibi had one thing in common, despite all previous notions; that they became concerned when their sons did not come home at the usual time, so they sought them out. 

The two parents met about a quarter mile from their sons' training grounds at dusk one day a week after Kiba's seventeenth birthday. They gave each other curt nods before confirming they were here for the same things. So, stiffly, they fell instep with each other (if not for the sake of common courtesy, for the sake of the team their children were on) and directed themselves towards the worn patch of ground their sons trained at.

They were both surprised when their sons did not immediately approach them upon arrival. They were slightly more surprised when they sensed the two chakras in the same tree. So they both leaped into the branches to get to the bottom of it.

They were both shocked to find the two were not only together in the three, together on a branch, but for all intents and purposes,

* * *

When Kiba reached out and gingerly touched Shino's pale, long-fingered hand with his tanned, clawed one, he expected Shino to jump away (even though all the signs were pointing away from that, you can't really stop the occasional bout of paranoia). He didn't expect Shino to gently turn his hand over in Kiba's and grip his tenderly. 

Shino expected Kiba to jump away with a loud, bark-like exclamation as soon as he gripped the other's hand (again, paranoia). What he didn't expect was Kiba to hesitate slightly before rubbing his knuckles and inching closer. But when Kiba slowly reached out and tugged off his hood and sunglasses, he was ready to take the leap of faith. He turned to him and waited.

Shino, Kiba decided, had the most beautiful pair of brown eyes he'd ever seen. Dark with little flecks of yellow around the pupil. So when he suddenly found himself pinned to the tree trunk and Shino's lips softly yet insistently on his own and his eyes even closer, he didn't really mind at all.

* * *

There they sat, an Inuzuka and an Aburame. Kiba with his head pillowed on Shino's shoulder, Shino's head pillowed on top of Kiba's, and their fingers interlaced atop their thighs, which were touching in their cross-legged position. Kiba's hitai-ate was missing, as was Shino's; along with his sunglasses and hooded jacket. His second jacket's high collar was shoved downward, revealing a pale, well-structured face. 

Tsume and Shibi stared for a moment. What the _hell_ was this? An _Aburame _and an _Inuzuka_? There were laws against that, weren't there?

* * *

When Kiba first became aware that he and Shino were no longer alone (which was funny, because after a _really _nice kiss they had decided to watch the sunset together and he was pretty sure there hadn't been anybody else), he didn't do anything. He let his nose figure out what was different so he didn't have to open his eyes or disturb his sleeping boyfriend. When his nose caught the tell-tale scent of an Inuzuka, however (one who was getting increasingly shocked by the second), he instantly sat up and successfully semi-concussed himself on Shino's temple. 

Shino was rudely awoken (from a very nice dream, which happened to be a scene-by-scene replay of his first kiss that afternoon) by the _thunk _of his temple being hit by something and the rather unpleasant jerking feeling of his head shooting upwards involuntarily. He was about to scowl at Kiba for waking him up when he realized that his boyfriend's mouth was working furiously but nothing was coming out of it while he stared dumbstruck at his mother and Shino's father.

Wait,

* * *

When Kiba shot awake and his jaw came close to unhinging itself trying to come up with something to say, Tsume and Shibi waited. Tsume was becoming increasingly annoyed, and Shibi, well, Shibi just looked like a damn block of wood. 

"Say something!" Tsume finally bit out impatiently.

"Shino, care to explain?" Shibi asked (unemotionally).

"Um, um," was all the two could get out as they disentangled their fingers and scooted apart.

Finally, Shino recovered himself as he redid his jacket, replaced his hitai-ate, put his hood on, and perched his sunglasses on his nose.

"We were watching the sun set."

* * *

I'm not crazy about the ending, but I couldn't really think of anything better that wasn't too OOC. So, I hope you took at least mild enjoyment out of this. Comments and constructive criticism appreciated. 


End file.
